Systems and/or methods of data acquisition from a transceiver

ABSTRACT

Systems and/or Methods are disclosed for acquiring data from a transceiver responsive to one or more signals that are received at the transceiver from one or more devices. In one embodiment, a transceiver is configured to transmit a signal responsive to having received a first signal from a first device, wherein the signal that is transmitted by the transceiver is configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal. The transceiver is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device. In other embodiments, a transceiver is configured to receive a signal from a first device over frequencies of a predetermined frequency band that the first device is authorized to use, to receive a signal from a second device over frequencies of the predetermined frequency band and to transmit data responsive to having received both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device. The transceiver is further configured to require that both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device be received at the transceiver before the data is transmitted. Analogous methods are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/620,122, filed Nov. 17, 2009, entitled Systems and/or Methods ofData Acquisition From a Transceiver, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,665,068, whichitself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/855,332,filed Sep. 14, 2007, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular IdentificationSystem, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,642,897, which itself is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/506,365, filed Sep. 2, 2004,entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,286,040, which itself is a 35 U.S.C. §371 national phaseapplication of PCT International Application No. PCT/US03/07770, havingan international filing date of Mar. 13, 2003, which itself claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 60/364,303, filed Mar. 14,2002, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, thedisclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. The above PCT International Application was published inthe English language and has International Publication No. WO 03/096128A2.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Violations of motor vehicle laws, such as speeding laws, may become anincreasing concern as highways become more crowded with ever increasingnumbers of vehicles. Electronic systems for monitoring vehicles aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,917 to Carrender et al., entitledElectronic Tag Including RF Modem for Monitoring Motor VehiclePerformance With Filtering; U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,810 to Segal et al.,entitled Method and Apparatus for Automatic Event Detection in aWireless Communication System; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,125 to Hall,entitled Collision Avoidance System.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Cooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods, capable ofmonitoring and recording vehicular law violations, with the assistanceand cooperation of the vehicles in violation, are disclosed. Inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention, real-time informationfrom vehicular sensors is communicated to a Central Processing Unit(CPU). Strategically located Interrogator devices, on roads/highways, atintersections, in and around school zones, integrated with trafficlights, etc., issue inquiries/interrogations to passing-by vehicles.Vehicles proximate to such Interrogators respond with unique identifyinginformation and with parameter lists provided by their vehicularsensors. In some embodiments, each Interrogator inquiry provides data,including the lawful parameter limits (i.e. speed limit) associated withits location. In response to having successfully decoded an inquiry, andin response to the state of its vehicular sensors, a vehicularTransponder may transmit information to the specific Interrogator thathas issued an inquiry. The Interrogator then relays relevant identifyinginformation to the CPU for further processing.

Cooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods according tosome embodiments of the invention, hereinafter referred to as CVIS, mayalso provide a public service to motorists by delivering real-timeroad-specific reports relating to traffic, accidents, weatherconditions, etc. In other embodiments, CVIS may further provide aservice to motorists by delivering store-and-forward messages (e-mail)to and from their vehicles. In other embodiments, CVIS may also serve asa “mobile yellow pages” providing selective, area-specific informationrelevant to leisure, shopping, and/or entertainment activities, inresponse to motorist initiated inquiries. Some embodiments may alsoprovide distress assistance to motorists. Toll collections may behandled very effectively, and some embodiments may even be configured totell you where to find a parking spot as you approach a parking area.

CVIS can pay for itself very quickly with the dollars of vehicular lawviolators. Significant new revenue may be generated for State and Localauthorities since many or every violator can be apprehendedelectronically. CVIS may derive additional revenues from servicesprovided to commerce and/or individuals, or may chose to offer (at leastsome) of its services free of charge as a public service to thecommunity.

Significant business potential exists for industry that may engage inthe development, manufacturing, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades toCVIS. In the United States alone, more than 15 Million (lightweight) newcars are sold each year, and there are more that 200 Million suchvehicles already in operation. There are also more than 40 Million fleetvehicles US-wide. For all of these vehicles to be CVIS compliant,according to some embodiments of the invention, each one may be equippedwith a Transponder. The number of Interrogators that could be deployedUS-wide could exceed tens of thousands.

Following the successful deployment of CVIS in the United States,deployment in other countries may follow.

Besides detecting violations such as speeding, some embodiments of CVISwill also be able to detect events such as not having stopped at a redlight and/or a stop sign, and will be able to search, locate, and tracka vehicle, in response to law enforcement commands, throughout a cityand/or throughout the entire country.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of systems and methods according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates interrogator packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates transponder packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates confirmation packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B, which together form FIG. 5, schematically illustratenotificator packets according to various embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating time-frequency plans accordingto various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating time-frequency plans accordingto various other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates traffic light notificators according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B, which together form FIG. 9, schematically illustratetraffic light notificator packet formats according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of network interconnected systems and methodsaccording to various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Introduction and Summary

Embodiments of CVIS described hereinbelow can potentially benefitsociety in significant ways. Some embodiments of CVIS may:

-   -   (1) Save lives (many lives).    -   (2) Reduce significantly the number of vehicular accidents,        minor and major, and the associated injuries, suffering, and        expense/loss in productivity.    -   (3) Stabilize and even reduce car insurance premiums (as a        consequence of (1) & (2) above).    -   (4) Instill a heightened awareness of lawful driving behavior to        the public at-large (thus re-enforcing (1) through (3) above).    -   (5) Be a strong anti-theft deterrent.    -   (6) Offer emergency/distress assistance to motorists.    -   (7) Offer real-time, road-specific, information to motorists as        well as other more general information, for leisure and        recreational activities, including personal messaging.

A focus of CVIS is on strengthening vehicular law enforcement andmitigating irresponsible driving behavior, thus improving safety forpedestrians and drivers alike. Deployment of CVIS can make vehicular lawenforcement automatic, efficient, non-discriminatory, quick,non-intrusive, and/or transparent to the violator and law enforcementagency alike. While being an instrument of beneficial socialengineering, embodiments of CVIS also can generate significant newrevenues for state/county law-enforcement agencies and can thus pay foritself with the dollars of those who violate the Law. Embodiments ofCVIS may thus be envisioned as a selective tax imposed only on vehicularlaw violators. Other embodiments of CVIS, however, may also generaterevenue by delivering area-specific commercial, leisure, and/orrecreational information to motorists' vehicles. That is, someembodiments of CVIS can be a “mobile yellow pages” for restaurants,cinemas, stores/malls, promotions, etc, as well as a system fordelivering store-and-forward personal messages and/or e-mail to peoplein transit.

To those who will criticize CVIS as being a “Big Brother is Watching”type of a system, we offer this simple response: Driving on public roadsand highways is a necessity of modern life, and is an activity conducteddaily by an overwhelming majority of the adult population. Driving onpublic roads and highways, therefore, is an activity that impacts almostall people daily, either directly or indirectly. Because of its broadreaching affects on society, driving must be conducted responsibly andwithin the guidelines set forth by Law. According to some embodiments ofCVIS, while a driver's activities remain lawful, “Big Brother” is blind.Only when a motorist's actions violate the Law, only then do BigBrother's eyes open to take notice.

We have all witnessed the reckless driver who routinely violates theposted speed limit. We have repeatedly witnessed the careless driver whogoes through stop signs without first making a complete stop. We haveeven seen those who go through red lights in their eagerness to get totheir destinations a few minutes earlier. Many drivers still do not wearseat belts and many more execute turns without bothering to indicatetheir intentions. All these vehicular law violations, and many more,would be noticeable and recordable by some embodiments of CVIS. Eachevent associated with a violation would be recorded at a centralprocessing unit and would also be tagged with the registered identity ofthe vehicle involved, the time-of-day of occurrence, and positioncoordinates of occurrence.

2. Elements

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manyalternate forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, while the invention is susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit theinvention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theinvention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims.

An element of some embodiments of CVIS is the Transponder-Interrogatorpair of FIG. 1. The Transponder resides in a vehicle and can thus beclassified as a mobile device. The Interrogator may (or may not) residein a vehicle and thus may (or may not) be a mobile device. Interrogatorsmay be installed in law-enforcement vehicles (police and/or statetrooper vehicles) but, in other embodiments, Interrogators may beinstalled in fixed locations, perhaps on top of light poles and trafficsigns (on the sides of roads and highways), integrated with trafficlights at road intersections, situated close to stop signs,strategically located in and around school zones, and in many otherplaces where vehicular law enforcement is of importance and concern.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, an in-vehicle Transponder receives inputsfrom a plurality of vehicular sensors (via physical electromechanicalconnections and/or wirelessly). Inputs to the Transponder may be speedof the vehicle, left- and right-turn signal states, odometer reading,GPS receiver data, vehicular theft sensor indications, driver's seatbelt state (on/off), etc. . . . Inputs to the Transponder may alsoarrive (wirelessly or otherwise) from a man-machine interface that maybe used to pre-condition the Transponder to request certain informationwhen in the proximity of certain Interrogators.¹ Permanently storedwithin a non-volatile memory of each Transponder, will be a uniqueidentifier (ID) of the vehicle associated with that Transponder. ¹ TheTransponder may request local-area commercial information such as, forexample, the three closest (relative to its location) restaurantsoffering French cuisine, or the two closest cinemas with a current listof movies playing, etc. Such information may be provided as a publicservice to motorists by the Local/State transportation authorities overtheir corresponding Interrogator networks. The service can be free ofcharge to the commercial entities being promoted, or a nominal monthlyfee may be charged.

An Interrogator, as shown in FIG. 1, transmits and receives informationto and from the Transponder. In addition, the Interrogator relaysinformation to a centrally located processing unit (computing center)and is also capable of receiving information (from said processing unitand/or other sources). In some embodiments, the Interrogator transmitsinformation to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and receivesinformation from the CPU or said other sources, in substantially realtime, using, for example, a GSM packet-data protocol such as GPRS (orEDGE). Terrestrial cellular/PCS or satellite-based data/paging networkscan be used to connect the Interrogator to its designated CPU².Dedicated line-of-sight microwave links or other media such as wire orfiber-optical cable may also be used. See, for example, FIG. 10. ²AUS-wide paging network may be used to provide urban and suburbanconnectivity between the plurality of Interrogators and theircorresponding CPUs. Non-time-critical updates of Interrogators by theCPU and the transferring of non-time-critical data to the CPU from thefield devices (Interrogators) may take place during off-peak hours ofthe day and night. In some embodiments, only time-critical updatesshould be scheduled to occur in substantially real time.

3. Monitoring of Vehicular Parameters

Two groups of embodiments that can be used to detect violations ofvehicular law are described below. Following a reading of this section,it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that a number ofcombinations and variations on the embodiments discussed hereinbelow arepossible. Even though this is recognized, we do not attempt to beexhaustive; rather, we chose to be comprehensive and thorough, focusingon two specific embodiments, so that the scope and spirit of thedisclosure can be conveyed fully and unambiguously to one of ordinaryskill in the art.

3.1 First Embodiments The Independent Interrogator

In accordance with first embodiments (the independent Interrogatorconcept) Interrogators are positioned at predetermined locations, alongthe sides of highways and roads, and are configured to transmit aninterrogation periodically, say once every 0.5 seconds.³ VehicleTransponders proximate to such Interrogators (i.e. within listeningrange) may be triggered to provide a response. Even when aninterrogation is reliably received (error free) by a vehicleTransponder, said vehicle Transponder may or may-not be triggered torespond. In some embodiments, the decision to respond may depend on thetype of interrogation message received, requesting a conditional or anunconditional response. In other embodiments, the decision of aTransponder to respond may also depend on whether or not saidTransponder has already responded to the particular Interrogator, withina predetermined elapsed time interval. By suppressing subsequentTransponder responses to the same Interrogator (over a predeterminedtime interval) some embodiments of the invention may eliminate manyredundant Transponder responses (that otherwise may be transmitted) thusreducing the probability of response collisions. ³ In some embodiments,independent Interrogators of the type described in this section may alsobe installed in law-enforcement vehicles.

As has already been noted, an interrogation may request a conditional oran unconditional Transponder response. Subject to the conditionalinterrogation, the Transponder will respond if it is in violation ofsome aspect of the Law. For example, if the driver is not wearinghis/her seat belt, and/or if the vehicle has not passed inspectionwithin the time limit allowed, and/or if the speed limit is beingviolated. Furthermore, if the vehicle has been subjected to unauthorizedusage (has been stolen, as determined by the vehicular sensors), and/orif the vehicle has been reported stolen,⁴ a Transponder response willalso be issued. ⁴ How the vehicle knows that it has been stolen (otherthan detecting unauthorized usage with its own sensors) will bediscussed later.

In some embodiments, each interrogation, whether it is of theconditional or unconditional type, relays a unique Interrogatoridentifier (ID), a measure of the physical coordinates of theInterrogator, the Time of Day (ToD), the lawful speed limit, and mayalso relay additional broadcast information that may be relevant tomotorists proximate to the Interrogator site. FIG. 2 shows additionalillustrative detail regarding an interrogation packet structureaccording to some embodiments of the invention. The Transponder readsthe data contents of the interrogation, correlates said data (e.g. speedlimit) with the actual data (e.g. speed of the vehicle as provided tothe Transponder by the vehicular sensors; see FIG. 1) and decideswhether a response to the received interrogation is warranted. Aresponse to the received interrogation may be initiated based on eitherunacceptable (unlawful) vehicular sensor states and/or any otherviolation-of-the-law, or it may be based on some other condition such asthe need for commercial information or a personal message to bedelivered.

In some embodiments, should the Transponder decide to respond, theresponse will include the vehicle's unique identification number, theToD, position coordinates, the lawful speed limit (as relayed to theTransponder by the Interrogator); the vehicle's actual speed, red light& stop sign flag status (the significance of which will be discussed indetail later); the driver's seat belt status (ON/OFF); inspectionstatus; theft status; and/or driver's distress status (see FIG. 3). TheTransponder response may also contain an inquiry requesting from theInterrogator certain local-area information. The Transponder responsemay also indicate the presence of a message to be delivered (from thevehicle to some destination; see FIG. 3). The driver's distress status,when activated (either manually or by voice command) will serve toautomatically notify the authorities that the vehicle is in distress.The authorities will be able to identify the distressed vehicle'slocation by the unique ID and position coordinates of the Interrogatorrelaying the distress message to the CPU. From that point on, someembodiments of CVIS could track the vehicle as it encounters successiveInterrogator sites. There could even be specially marked areas, on thesides of roads and highways, equipped with Interrogators that include,for example, Bluetooth-based and/or other wireless audio/video means.Such Interrogators, when triggered by a vehicle's distress message couldoffer audio/video connectivity between said vehicle and the authorities.The Transponder may also be equipped with the appropriate audio/videointerface.⁵ ⁵ The vehicle in distress also may need to pull over intosuch a specially marked area and stop in the proximity of theInterrogator to establish connectivity.

In other embodiments, if a Transponder decides to send a response to aninterrogation because there is some aspect of the law that has beenviolated, the response will also be stored locally within theTransponder. In addition to keeping a local copy of its response, theTransponder may also store a digital image and/or other characteristicof the driver.⁶ Given that the Transponder's response is receivedreliably by the Interrogator (as determined, for example, by a CRC fieldand/or other error checking) the Interrogator will copy said Transponderresponse in memory and will send a confirmation to the issuingTransponder (see FIG. 4). The Transponder, upon receipt of theconfirmation, will store the data contents of its confirmed response innon-volatile memory as a “permanent record” of the violation event. Allparameters in violation will be stored, together with the time-of-day,lawful speed limit, and position coordinates associated with theviolation (the position coordinates associated with the violation, thetime-of-day, and the lawful speed limit are those relayed to theTransponder by the Interrogator). As part of this permanent record, thedigital image and/or said other characteristic of the driver will alsobe stored. From this time on, in some embodiments, the Transponder mayignore all subsequent interrogations that may be received from the sameInterrogator over a predetermined time interval. ⁶ Means of generatingsuch an image may be provided as part of the overall Transponderinstrumentation. Other means such as those that would “sniff” thein-vehicle air for alcohol content may also be provided.

In other embodiments, in the case of an unconditional interrogation, thevehicle is obliged to respond whether it is in violation of the law ornot. No permanent record is kept by the Transponder (per the abovediscussion) unless the vehicle happens to be in violation of some aspectof the law. This mode of Transponder response, to the unconditionalinterrogation, may be used in places where the authorities desire togather statistics on parameters such as the number of vehicles passingby a particular location at different times of the day, the distributionof speed at that location, the types of vehicles (private cars, taxis,trucks, etc.) passing by that location, etc. . . . As with theTransponder response to a conditional interrogation, here too, aconfirmation by the Interrogator is sent to each responding Transponderin some embodiments. This may be done to silence the Transponder fromresponding to subsequent interrogations that may be received from thesame Interrogator over a predetermined time interval.

3.2 The Concept of Notificators Second Embodiments—The DependentInterrogator

In accordance with second embodiments of the invention, the Interrogatordoes not transmit unless it is triggered by a near-by Transponder whoseassociated vehicle is in violation of some aspect of the law, or indistress, or needs to receive or transmit information. Some embodiments,may work as follows: Each road containing Interrogators also containsother devices referred to as Notificators. A Notificator is atransmit-only device that relays information to near-by (passing-by)vehicles. The Notificator does not receive information from vehicles,only transmits to them. In some embodiments, the Notificator, however,can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with the CPU. TheNotificator will periodically transmit its coordinates, ToD, and thelawful (posted) speed limit for its location, and may also be enabled totransmit other information such as road conditions, traffic reports,accident reports, weather bulletins, etc. In other embodiments, theNotificator may also be configured to transmit a “you have been stolen”message which would be aimed at specific vehicles that have beenreported stolen.⁷ ⁷ Imagine a very sophisticated thief who manages tosteal a vehicle without triggering any of the unauthorized use (theft)sensors of the vehicle. When the owner of said stolen vehicle becomesaware of the fact and notifies the authorities, the authorities cancommand all Notificators in the area (via the CPU) to start transmittingthe “you have been stolen” message, accompanied by the stolen vehicle'sunique ID. When the stolen vehicle's Transponder receives thenotification, it will identify itself as stolen at the next Interrogatorsite (together with position coordinates) thus notifying the authoritiesof its whereabouts.

We return now to describe how Interrogators may be triggered tointerrogate in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. When aTransponder has received information from a Notificator and saidTransponder decides that, based on the received information, it isengaged in some unlawful activity, the Transponder begins toperiodically broadcast a message. The Transponder broadcasts (at sayfrequency f_(i)) its unique vehicle ID and the Notificator'scoordinates, pseudo-randomly changing the carrier frequency f_(i) frombroadcast to broadcast. The Transponder broadcasts and then listens;broadcasts and then listens; in a time division duplex fashion, bothbroadcasting and listening at f_(i). Each Interrogator listens to allpossible Transponder broadcast frequencies f_(i) (i=1, 2, . . . , L−1,L). Hence, when an Interrogator hears a Transponder's broadcast, theInterrogator responds by interrogating the specific Transponder whosebroadcast it has just heard. The interrogation is transmitted at carrierfrequency f_(i), while the Transponder is still listening at f_(i).

Embodiments of an Interrogator packet format are illustrated in FIG. 2.Embodiments of the Transponder response are illustrated in FIG. 3.Embodiments of the confirmation by the Interrogator to the Transponderare shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, all this exchange occurs atthe same frequency f_(i); the frequency at which the Interrogator wastriggered by the Transponder to interrogate. This, however, need not bethe case. For example, the Interrogator, having been triggered tointerrogate at could include in its interrogation a command instructingthe Transponder to reply at f_(j) (f_(i)≠f_(j)). Alternatively, theInterrogator can be told, via the broadcast message that triggers it, tointerrogate at f_(k) (f_(k)≠f_(i)≠f_(j)) etc. When the above exchange ofinformation between Transponder and Interrogator is complete (asindicated by the confirmation to the Transponder by the Interrogator)the Transponder ceases all further transmissions of its broadcast untilit is once again triggered by some other Notificator. In someembodiments, the Transponder broadcasts will not cease, however, if theyare caused by a vehicle theft condition. If the Transponder's broadcastsrelate to a stolen vehicle state, the broadcasts will continue tofacilitate vehicle tracking as said vehicle travels from Interrogatorsite to Interrogator site.

According to some embodiments, one reason for including theNotificator's coordinates in the Transponder's broadcast message, is toreduce or preclude the possibility of having vehicles wrongly accused ofviolating the speed limit. One can imagine, for example, a vehicle on ahighway violating the speed limit by going 75 mph while the posted speedlimit is 55 mph. Let's assume that said vehicle is broadcasting, andimagine a location where the highway and a city road come very closetogether. Furthermore, let's assume that, due to an engineeringoversight or other reason, an Interrogator situated on the city road (atthe point where the city road and the highway come close to each other)can hear broadcasts of vehicle Transponders traveling on the highway. Bydeciphering the broadcast message, and reading the Notificator'scoordinates, the road Interrogator can ignore all highway vehiclebroadcasts (even though some aspect of the law has been violated) sincethe Notificator's coordinates make it clear that said broadcasts relateto vehicles on an other road/highway and, hence, will be handled byInterrogators on said other road/highway. Similarly, if due to someimproper installation/calibration of a Notificator or other reason, itsradiated signals are heard by Transponders on roads/highways other thanthe intended one, Interrogators on said “other than the intended one”route will ignore any broadcasts initiated by said Transponders. Failureto correlate between the Notificator's “coordinates”, as relayed by theTransponder's broadcast, and those of the listening Interrogator, caninhibit triggering the Interrogator to interrogate⁸. ⁸ It should beunderstood that the term “coordinates” is used throughout this documentin a very liberal sense. In some embodiments, the term coordinates isnot used with geometrical rigor to specify a precise point in space;rather, it is used to specify a particular road/highway and in somecases a specific location on said road/highway (e.g. route 495 betweenexits 50 and 51). It is envisaged that Notificators and Interrogatorsbelonging to the same road/highway will be positioned close to eachother (may even be co-located, or even physically integrated onto oneassembly). As such, the “coordinates” relayed by a Transponder broadcastshould always correlate, at least with regard to the specifiedroad/highway, with the coordinates of an Interrogator hearing thebroadcast. In other embodiments, precise geometrical coordinates may beused.

In some embodiments, Notificators frequency-hop from one notificationmessage to the next in order to comply with regulatory requirements ofthe unlicensed-frequency Instrumentation, Scientific and Medical (ISM)band. Each notification message is repeated at each transponderlistening frequency f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L. Preferably, the L repeatsof each notification should occur over a short period of time (e.g.,within 500 ms or less). In some embodiments, transponders do not haveany timing or frequency-hop pattern information relative toNotificators. A Transponder simply tunes its receiver to a frequency,randomly selected from the set {f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L}, and listens.FIG. 5 a illustrates how the frame format for a Notificator packet maybe configured. As can be seen from the Figure, the notification packetrelays ToD, position coordinates, lawful speed limit information, aswell as road conditions information. The road conditions information maybe anything that the authorities deem important for motorists such asaccident reports, congestion reports, slippery road conditions, weatherreports, etc. . . . In addition to the above, the notification packetmay also contain stolen vehicle information. As shown on FIG. 5 a, up toJ stolen vehicle IDs may be broadcast. In some embodiments, what limitsthe value of J is the constraint that within 500 msec (or so) theNotificator is able to repeat the notification packet L times. Hence,when the stolen vehicles list exceeds the limits set forth by the aboverequirement, a longer notification message may be created spanningseveral hops. Each frequency-hopped notification message segment canreveal the next hop frequency at which the message is to be continued(see FIG. 5 b) so that the Transponder can follow the hopping pattern ofthe Notificator. Thus, the Transponder may be able to read the entirestolen vehicles list.⁹ However, there is one additional issue regardingrelatively long Notificator messages: The vehicle may need to be movingrelatively slowly or be stationary in order to hear the entire message.If the vehicle is in relative fast motion, it may find itselfout-of-range of the Notificator before the entire message has beentransmitted. This issue is the topic of the next section. ⁹ Alternativeembodiments use a Direct Sequence, Spread-Spectrum Notificator mode, anda corresponding Transponder receiver demodulator, so that relativelylong Notificator messages can be transmitted over a predetermined(non-frequency-hopped) channel.

3.2.1 Special Purpose Notificators at Stop Lights

Special Purpose Notificators may be strategically positioned in theproximity of traffic lights. Such Notificators may contain lists ofreported stolen vehicles (as relayed to them by the CPU) and maybroadcast such lists periodically. The placement of Notificators in theproximity of traffic lights can offer advantages to the system. As atraffic light turns red, most vehicles (even those in the possession ofthieves) stop. The (relatively long) time interval over which vehiclesremain stationary at traffic lights allows the Notificator to transmit asignificantly longer stolen vehicles list than it could otherwise beable to. As a result, the probability that a stolen vehicle will hearthe message “you have been stolen”, as relayed to it, for example, via abroadcast of its unique vehicle ID, is increased. Once a stolen vehiclereceives the notification that it has been stolen, its “theft status”flag is raised, thus triggering the vehicle to start broadcasting, asalready discussed, in accordance with the second embodiments.

The frame format configuration for this relatively long message may beas shown on FIG. 5 b. The entire message may include many segmentssimilar to the one illustrated on FIG. 5 b. Each message segment may beidentical in form to the previous one but this is not necessary. Forexample, in some embodiments, the ToD and position coordinates may beomitted following the first message segment, but if a vehicle startslistening to the message after the first segment, that vehicle would bein the dark regarding ToD and position (unless of course it waitedlong-enough to hear the beginning of the message). Another alternativeembodiment may include ToD and position coordinates intermittently, sayonce every 10 message segments.

At the beginning of the “stolen vehicles list” notification message andintermittently thereafter, the message segment may be repeated on allTransponder listening frequencies in order to get all proximateTransponders to track the message (to follow the frequency-hoppingpattern)¹⁰. By doing so, all Transponders in the vicinity of the SpecialPurpose Notificator can receive a message segment which reveals thevalue of the next hop frequency at which the message is to be continued.¹⁰ As will be described later, when the Special Purpose Notificator isco-located with Traffic Light State Notificators, this may not benecessary.

4. Time-Frequency Plan First Embodiments

In some embodiments, an Interrogator sequentially transmits itsinterrogation on all possible frequencies (f₁ through f_(L)) thatTransponders may be listening to. FIG. 6 illustrates a time-frequencyplan according to some embodiments. The entire interrogation packet (asillustrated on FIG. 2) is first transmitted on f₁, followed byretransmission on f₂, then on f₃, and continuing on until the sameinterrogation packet has been transmitted on all Transponder listeningfrequencies. Each Transponder randomly selects a frequency to listen tofrom the a priori stored set {f₁ through f_(L)}. When a Transponderreceives the interrogation packet and decides to respond (either basedon some violation of the law criterion, a distress state, or because theinterrogation is of the unconditional type, etc.) the Transponderrandomly selects one out of the N available time slots (see FIG. 6)within which to send its response. In some embodiments, N is a numberbetween 16 and 32. Generally, the larger N is, the smaller theprobability becomes that responses will collide. For example, assume 100vehicles near an Interrogator, able to detect interrogations, and saythat 10 of these are in violation of the law. Furthermore, assume thatthe Transponders of these 100 vehicles are uniformly distributed overthe listening frequency set. With N orthogonal time slots per listeningfrequency, the probability of a response collision is 10/LN. With L=20and N=16, the probability of a Transponder response collision becomes (10/320)= 1/32, for this example. Setting N=32, makes the aboveprobability become 1/64. In the event of a collision, the Interrogatorwill (most likely) not recognize any response (over the time slot wherethe collision occurred) and will, therefore, not transmit aconfirmation. Thus, the Transponders involved in the collision willcontinue to respond to subsequent interrogations.

In some embodiments, all Transponder responses that are received errorfree by the relevant Interrogator are acknowledged via a confirmation tothe issuing Transponder. As illustrated on FIG. 6, there are fourTransponder responses over frequency f₁, on time slots 1, 3, 6, and 7,respectively. Following the last interrogation repeat (at frequencyf_(L)) the Interrogator goes back to f₁ to acknowledge the four receivedTransponder responses. Then, the Interrogator jumps to f₂ to acknowledgethe six Transponder responses there. Following f₂, f₃ is served, andso-on, all the way down to f_(L). In serving acknowledgements on any oneof the frequencies f_(i) (1≦i≦L) the Interrogator stays on f_(i) for alength of time equal to what would be needed if the Interrogator had toserve N acknowledgements, even though less than N acknowledgements willtypically be required. After this length of time, the Interrogator moveson to f_(i+1) to serve the acknowledgements there, and stays on f_(i+1)for a length of time equal to the maximum that would be required for theInterrogator to serve the maximum of N confirmations.¹¹ Theseembodiments can maintain invariant time-line relationships betweenevents occurring over the plurality of frequencies f₁ through f_(L).Other embodiments, however, are possible where the Interrogator servesthe acknowledgements at a given frequency immediately following thereceived Transponder responds at that frequency. Following the last setof acknowledgements at frequency f_(L), the Interrogator returns to f₁and the process starts all over again with the Interrogator issuing itsinterrogation sequentially over the entire frequency set¹². ¹¹ The termsconfirmation and acknowledgement are being used interchangeably.¹² Itmay be desirable for the period of the process to be confined to 500msec. In some embodiments, this can assure that even when traveling atrelatively high speeds, vehicles will have ample time to hear andrespond to interrogations. The 500 msec target can be met by a systemwhose over-the-air transmission rate is about 1 Mbps or more.Preliminary calculations regarding packet lengths indicate that theinterrogation packet can be bounded by about 5,800 bits before ForwardError Coding (FEC) resulting in about a 10,000-bit packet after FEC isapplied. The Transponder packet is bounded by about 810 bits (beforeFEC) resulting in about a 2,000-bit packet following FEC overhead.

Note that the frequencies f₁, f₂, . . . , f_(L) need not representcontiguous values or values that are monotonically increasing.Furthermore, the Time Division Duplex Multiplexing (TDDM) approach,regarding the Interrogator/Transponder exchange, as discussed above andillustrated on FIG. 6, may be replaced with a Code Division Multiplexing(CDM) methodology where instead of time, code orthogonality is reliedupon to separate Transponder responses at the Interrogator receiver.Still further embodiments use Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)whereby frequency orthogonality is used in lieu of either TDDM or CDM.In addition to the above, other combinations and/or variations ofmultiplexing schemes as well as other time-frequency relationships thatare within the scope and spirit of what has been disclosed hereinabove,will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, in accordance withthe TDDM approach of FIG. 6, instead of waiting for all Transponderresponses (at a given f_(i)) to first arrive at the Interrogator beforetransmitting confirmations, embodiments whereby acknowledgements(confirmations) are transmitted by the Interrogator immediatelyfollowing the receipt of a Transponder's response may be implemented.

5. Time-Frequency Plan Second Embodiments

As has been stated earlier, in accordance with the second embodiments,shortly after a Transponder is triggered by a Notificator to startbroadcasting, said Transponder pseudo-randomly selects a frequency fromthe set {f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L} and begins to transmit identifyinginformation over said frequency. The Transponder broadcast burst istransmitted periodically (for example, once every 500 msec) until anInterrogator is triggered to interrogate. As illustrated in FIG. 7, whenan Interrogator is triggered, the Interrogator/Transponder exchangefollowed by the Interrogator confirmation takes place, at the end ofwhich the Transponder's periodic broadcast sequence may end. FIG. 7illustrates a time lag between the Transponder broadcast that triggersthe Interrogator and the interrogation itself. This is intended toillustrate that the Interrogator may be busy serving other broadcastsand/or is busy with other time-critical functions.

6. Transponder Options for Changing Transmit and Receive Frequencies

In accordance with the second embodiments, it has already been statedthat the Transponder, once triggered to start broadcasting,pseudo-randomly (and in some embodiments, uniformly and with no biasover the available frequency set) changes transmit/receive frequencyonce per broadcast interval (at least once about every 500 msec). Whenthe Transponder is not in the broadcast mode, it randomly (and in someembodiments uniformly) selects a frequency from the set {f_(i); i=1, 2,. . . , L} to listen to. The Transponder stays at the chosen frequency,and continues to listen for Notificator messages until a Notificatormessage and some violation of the law and/or a distress state and/or theTransponder's desire to transmit or receive information, triggers saidTransponder once again into the broadcast mode.

In accordance with the first embodiments, each Transponder can beconfigured so that in response to each received interrogationconfirmation message the Transponder hops pseudo-randomly (andpreferably uniformly) to a new frequency f_(i). Consequently, even ifall Transponders at the time of manufacturing and/or installation areinitialized to a common receive/transmit frequency f₀,

: f₀ε{f₁, f₂, . . . , f_(L)}, offenders would soon be randomized.Alternative embodiments may entail assigning, in a pseudo-randomfashion, at the time of manufacturing and/or installation, areceive/transmit frequency to each Transponder, which the Transponderthen maintains ad infinitum. Variations of the two embodiments may alsobe used.

7. The Traffic Light Notificator Set

We have already described how embodiments of CVIS may be used toidentify and record various driving violations such as exceeding of thespeed limit, the driver not having engaged the seat belt mechanism,operating a vehicle with expired inspection status, driving a stolenvehicle, etc. We have also described how embodiments of CVIS can serveas a safety net for drivers in distress and how embodiments of CVIS canprovide other services and information to motorists. In this section, wedescribe other embodiments of CVIS—the ability of embodiments of CVIS todetect traffic light and stop sign violations. Not honoring a trafficlight (i.e., not stopping at a red light) may be one of the mostdangerous behavior patterns that a driver can engage in.

FIG. 8 illustrates a set of traffic lights at an intersection accordingto some embodiments of the invention. The Traffic Light Set shown onFIG. 8 is labeled as “Traffic Light Set A” to distinguish it from otherpossible Traffic Light Sets that may exist at the same intersection.Typically, up to four Traffic Light Sets may exist at an intersection.Also shown on FIG. 8 is an “Approaching Traffic Light Set ANotificator”. This Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator isstrategically located such that vehicles traveling towards Traffic LightSet A will first encounter said Approaching Traffic Light Set ANotificator. After a vehicle has traveled beyond Traffic Light Set A,whether it has continued straight-ahead or has made a turn (left orright) the vehicle will encounter an Interrogator. Only one suchInterrogator is shown on FIG. 8 (the one that will be encountered shouldthe vehicle decide to continue straight-ahead beyond the Traffic LightSet A). Thus, a Traffic Light Set that is equipped with Traffic LightState Notificators and/or with a Stolen Vehicles List Notificator, will(from the point of view of an approaching vehicle) be preceded by anApproaching Traffic Light Set Notificator and will be followed by anInterrogator, irrespective of the direction of said vehicle beyond saidTraffic Light Set.

FIG. 8 also illustrates that each individual Traffic Light Assembly(responsible for managing traffic in some specific direction; straightahead, left, or right) may have associated with it a Traffic Light StateNotificator according to some embodiments of the invention. Informationfrom each Traffic Light Assembly is sent (via physical connection orwirelessly) to the corresponding Traffic Light State Notificator.Information may also be transmitted from the one Traffic Light StateNotificator designated as the Master, to the other Traffic Light StateNotificator(s) that are associated with the same Traffic Light Set andare designated as Slave(s). Information from the Master may also betransmitted to the Stolen Vehicles List Notificator associated with thesame Traffic Light Set (also designated as a Slave on FIG. 8). In,general, information may flow bi-directionally throughout the chain ofTraffic Light Set Notificators, from any Notificator to any other, asshown on FIG. 8. Information may also flow from a Notificator that isassociated with a particular Traffic Light Set to at least one TrafficLight Assembly associated with said Traffic Light Set.

As noted earlier, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention, a vehicle approaching Traffic Light Set A will firstencounter the Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator. TheApproaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator informs the vehicle that itis about to enter the listening range of a possible plurality of TrafficLight Sets, but it is only to listen and pay attention to transmissions(notifications) originating from Notificators of Traffic Light Set A.The Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator also informs the vehicleof the Transponder listening frequencies corresponding to Traffic LightSet A (chosen so as to maintain orthogonality between the transmissionsof the plurality of Notificator sets corresponding to a plurality ofTraffic Light Sets that may be proximate at an intersection). TheApproaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator transmits its notificationperiodically (say once every 500 msec) repeating said notification onall Transponder listening frequencies within the repetition interval(within the 500 msec). An illustrative packet format for the ApproachingTraffic Light Set Notificator is shown in FIG. 9 a.

In some embodiments, each Traffic Light State Notificator periodicallytransmits a notification informing Transponders of its associatedTraffic Light Assembly state. The Traffic Light State Notificatorreceives information regarding the state of its corresponding TrafficLight Assembly, for example, from the corresponding Traffic LightAssembly itself (see FIG. 8). As with all Notificators, the TrafficLight State Notificator will repeat its notification on all Transponderlistening frequencies (within a predetermined time interval) so that allvehicle Transponders within listening range can be notified. Anillustrative packet format for the Traffic Light State Notificator isshown in FIG. 9 b. An intercepting Transponder first correlates theinformation that it has received from the Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator with the Traffic Light Set ID field in the Traffic LightState Notificator packet. If a match is found, the Transponder copiesthe Traffic Light Assembly ID, ToD, position coordinates, and trafficlight state fields found within the Traffic Light State Notificatorpacket. The Transponder will keep separate records of traffic lightstate notifications corresponding to different Traffic Light AssemblyIDs. These separate records will be updated in ToD and Traffic LightState as new notifications with correlating Traffic Light Assembly IDsarrive with new parameters in said corresponding ToD and Traffic LightState fields.

Frequency coordination between the Stolen Vehicles List Notificator andthe Traffic Light State Notificator(s) associated with a particularTraffic Light Set, such as the Traffic Light Set shown on FIG. 8 nowwill be described according to some embodiments of the invention. Someembodiments of the invention may avoid collisions between thetransmissions of the plurality of Notificators that may be associatedwith the plurality of Traffic Light Sets that may be situated at a givenintersection. This may be accomplished as follows: At each intersection,each Traffic Light Set (A, B, C, D) may be assigned a differentorthogonal subset of frequencies for its corresponding Notificators touse. Thus, upon notification by the Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator, a Transponder may select a frequency from said assignedsubset of frequencies to listen to while ignoring all other frequenciesthat may be associated with other proximate Traffic Light Sets. This canguarantee frequency orthogonality between the emissions of a pluralityof Notificators corresponding to a plurality of Traffic Light Sets thatmay be situated in close proximity at an intersection, and can allow theplurality of Notificators corresponding to different proximate Trafficlight Sets to operate independent of each other, without the need forsynchronization, while still avoiding collisions.

In accordance with some embodiments of the invention as illustrated inFIG. 8, one Traffic Light State Notificator per Traffic Light Set may bedesignated as a “Master”. The Master may transmit its notificationpseudo-randomly over the entire designated frequency sub-band whilekeeping all other Notificators inhibited. When the Master has deliveredits notification over all associated frequencies (thus capturing allproximate Transponders) the Master then sequentially activates the otherTraffic Light State Notificators, designated as Slaves, to deliver theirnotifications at frequencies that have been pseudo-randomly chosen bythe Master. In some embodiments, the Master, besides dictating the hopfrequencies of the Slaves, transmits via its notification to theTransponders the frequency to be transmitted by the next-in-lineNotificator. Each Slave Notificator via its notification packet alsoinforms the Transponders regarding the frequency to be used by thenext-in-line Slave Notificator. Thus, in some embodiments, the MasterNotificator is the only Traffic Light Set Notificator that needs toperform “capturing” of Transponders by repeating the notification on allfrequencies. The above time-frequency coordination embodiments, besidesavoiding collisions between the transmissions of the plurality ofNotificators that may be associated with a given Traffic Light Set, mayalso “capture” Transponders (following the first “hit” by the Master) sothat notifications may be heard, thereafter, by such capturedTransponders on first transmission.

In some embodiments, the Interrogators following a Traffic Light Set canbe of either type—Independent or Dependent. First, assume thatInterrogators of the Independent type follow Traffic Light Sets. If avehicle travels straight-ahead past a Traffic Light Set, and uponinterrogation presents a Red Traffic Light State response (within theTraffic Light Assembly S field; see FIG. 3) then that vehicle isidentified as having violated the straight-ahead stop light signal. If avehicle makes a left turn following the Traffic Light Set and uponinterrogation presents a Red Traffic Light State response (within theTraffic Light Assembly L field; see FIG. 3) then that vehicle isidentified as having violated the left-turn stop light signal. If avehicle makes a right turn following the Traffic Light Set, and there isno specific right turn Traffic Light Assembly (as is quite often thecase) the Interrogator will look for either a Green Traffic Light Statewithin the Traffic Light Assembly S field, or a full stop indication andRight Turn Permitted on Red validation¹³. The “Right Turn Permitted onRed” state (either YES or NO) may be provided by either the TrafficLight State Notificator associated with the right-turn Traffic LightAssembly (if present) or by another Traffic Light State Notificatorbelonging to the same Traffic Light Set. ¹³ In some embodiments, inestablishing the severity of a violation when a turn is involved, theright- or left-turn blinker state may also be examined by theInterrogator. That is, having made a legal left turn but without havingindicated your intention to do so, is a small (relatively speaking)violation. However, the driver's profile may be updated, even inresponse to minor violations, and the driver's long-term record may thusbe established. This type of data may be an input for insurancecompanies in setting rates for individuals.

In accordance with the second embodiments, and in addition to all otherembodiments already discussed with respect to said second embodiments,Transponders may be configured such as a non-zero vehicular velocity inconjunction with straight-ahead motion and a Red Traffic Light Statefrom a corresponding (straight-ahead) Traffic Light Assembly willtrigger Transponder broadcasts. Transponders may also be configured sothat vehicular motion in conjunction with having made a left turn and aRed Traffic Light State from the corresponding left turn Traffic LightAssembly will also trigger Transponder broadcasts, etc. . . .

The notion of having associated a Traffic Light State Notificator witheach Traffic Light Assembly (see FIG. 8) raises the prospect of adaptiveoptimal traffic control, according to some embodiments of the invention.In response to the “state” of traffic (i.e., volume and average speed oftraffic moving in a certain direction) the CPU may send Traffic LightAssembly control commands to certain select Traffic State Notificators.As is illustrated on FIG. 8, the bi-directional signal path between aTraffic Light State Notificator and the associated Traffic LightAssembly may be used to relay the information received by the TrafficLight State Notificator from the CPU to the corresponding Traffic LightAssembly. Said information may change, for example, the time intervalsthat the Traffic Light Assembly spends on Green and Red. As such,traffic flow may be altered.

In some embodiments, the CPU may ascertain, in substantially real time,the current traffic state (over a geographic area) from a plurality ofInterrogators. In response to the current traffic state, the desiredtraffic state, and the state of a plurality of Traffic Light Assemblies,the CPU may execute an optimization algorithm (e.g., Kalman-based) todetermine the optimum set of parameters for said plurality of TrafficLight Assemblies so as to optimally bring about the desired trafficstate. Optimal and (nearly) real-time adaptive feedback control of thetraffic state may thus be performed by the CPU.

8. The Stop Sign Notificator

In accordance with these embodiments, a Transponder is notified by aNotificator that it is approaching a stop sign (or that it has justpassed by a stop sign). As such, the vehicle associated with thenotified Transponder is expected to execute (or to have executed) acomplete stop at the stop sign. Thus, in response to such anotification, the vehicle's velocity is examined over a time interval(±τ) about the notification. If a zero velocity reading is found, thevehicle has obeyed the letter of the Law and has stopped at the stopsign; if not, the vehicle is in violation. If the vehicle has not made acomplete stop, other questions such as did the vehicle slow down, and ifyes by how much, may be asked.

9. The “HHTL” and the “HHTR”

The Hand-Held Transponder Loader (HHTL) and the Hand-Held TransponderRetriever (HHTR) are devices that input and output, respectively,information to/from the Transponder according to some embodiments of thepresent invention. The exchange of information between a HHTL and aTransponder or a HHTR and a Transponder preferably takes placewirelessly. The HHTL may be, for example, used by an Inspection Stationto update the contents of a particular Transponder following aninspection of the vehicle associated with said Transponder. The HHTL mayalso be used to load into a Transponder a plurality of images, eachreflecting characteristics of an authorized driver, so that in the eventof a violation, correlations between the driver's “image” and the apriori stored images may be performed locally (within the Transponder).These embodiments can reduce or minimize the amount of data that wouldneed to be relayed to the CPU. The HHTL may also be used by the MotorVehicles Department to periodically load data into Transponders.

In some embodiments, the HHTR may be a portable device that may be usedto (wirelessly) extract the records of drivers from Transponders. Lawenforcement officials and insurance company agents, for example, may beusers of HHTRs. The HHTR may also be equipped with means to deleteTransponder records in response to specific input instruction.

10. Other Embodiments 10.1 Ensembles of ShippingContainers/Transportable Vehicles

According to other embodiments of the invention, shipping containers, orany other ensemble of transportable vehicles, may be equipped withTransponders. Each Transponder may be configured to accept inputs fromone or more sensors of a container/transportable vehicle unit, relatingto, for example, the contents of the container/transportable vehicleunit, its environmental state, whether the unit has been opened (andwhen) since it left a particular origin, etc. . . . , and may keep arecord of such sensory inputs. At a particular destination (aloading/unloading dock) an Interrogator may be used to survey theensemble of such container/transportable vehicle units.

In order to conserve battery life (if the Transponder of acontainer/transportable vehicle unit is operating on battery power) theTransponder may be configured to have a sleep mode whereby it may, forexample, sleep for 1 sec., and then wake-up to listen and take sensorreadings for 10 msec. If during the listening interval the Transponderdetects a “presence signal” of an Interrogator, the Transponder mayremain awake in order to read the interrogation message content andrespond with unique identifying information. The Transponder may alsorelay to the Interrogator the contents of its record (a measure of itssensory inputs). Following the Transponder's response to theinterrogation, and following a confirmation of reception sent to theTransponder by the Interrogator, the Transponder may return to its sleepmode cycle (i.e., sleeping for 1 sec. and awaking-up for 10 msec. tolisten and take sensor readings). Any subsequent detections of theInterrogator's presence signal by the Transponder may be ignored by aTransponder that has already responded and has received confirmationthat its response has been received. The time interval for which thesubsequent detections of the Interrogator's presence signal may beignored (by a Transponder that has responded and has receivedconfirmation) may be a priori determined and stored within theTransponder, may be chosen by the Transponder, or may be dictated by theInterrogator's interrogation message. The Interrogator's presence signalmay be a direct-sequence-spread and/or frequency-hopping waveform (oreven a simple CW) whose parameter values are a priori known to theTransponder. Thus, each time the Transponder wakes-up, acquisition ofthe Interrogator's presence signal is attempted. If the presence signalis acquired, the Transponder remains awake in order to receive andprocess an Interrogation.

To reduce or minimize the probability of Transponder response collisions(particularly in areas where there may be a large ensemble ofcontainer/transportable vehicle units equipped with Transponders) theInterrogator may selectively command (via the interrogation message) asubset of the ensemble of container/transportable vehicle unitTransponders to respond. Thus, sequentially, subset-by-subset, theentire ensemble of Transponders may be interrogated to respond.

An ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units that may been-route (on a barge, railroad cart, airplane, or a truck) may also besubject to the same interrogation process described above. In this case,however, a special purpose Interrogator device may be used. The specialpurpose Interrogator device may be permanently installed on the barge,railroad cart, airplane, or truck. The special purpose Interrogatordevice may contain an Interrogator (as specified above) in conjunctionwith a Transponder. The Interrogator component of the special purposeInterrogator device may be configured to interrogate the ensemble ofcontainer/transportable vehicle units, as described earlier, and thusgather a summary of their state. This summary may then be relayed to theTransponder component of the special purpose Interrogator device. Thus,as the barge, railroad cart, airplane, or truck that is transporting theensemble of container/transportable vehicle units passes by anInterrogator (of the type that has been described for usage on the sideof roads and/or highways) information reflecting the state of thecontainer/transportable vehicle units ensemble that is en-route may berelayed to a CVIS CPU. The ability to interrogate and ascertain thestate of the container/transportable vehicle units ensemble, as ittravels from a point of origin to a point of destination, may offersignificant Home Land Security benefits.

10.2 Activation/De-Activation of CVIS

In some embodiments of the invention, every vehicle may be CVIS equipped(may have a built-in Transponder). However, in other embodiments, notevery vehicle's Transponder may be activated. A vehicle's Transpondermay be activated voluntarily by the owner of the vehicle or, in theevent that it isn't, a vehicle's Transponder may be activated by aGovernment authority. For example, an automobile insurance company mayoffer an insurance premium discount with CVIS activation of a vehicle.Thus, some people may choose to have their vehicles CVIS activated. Avehicle that is not CVIS activated and is involved in a number ofaccidents/traffic violations, may be ordered by the authorities tobecome CVIS activated.

CVIS may be activated in a vehicle in response to an interrogationmessage. In some embodiments, the Transponder of a vehicle that is notCVIS activated continues to receive interrogations, it simply does notrespond. As such, the vehicle's Transponder may receive an interrogationspecifying the vehicle's unique ID and ordering the vehicle to becomeCVIS active. Thus, from that time on, the Transponder of the vehiclewill configure itself in a CVIS active mode and will begin responding tointerrogations. This covert mode of CVIS activation may be used by theauthorities where there is probable cause (as is the case with legalwire-tapping) to gather information on suspect behavior. A vehicle thathas been CVIS activated by the above technique may become CVISde-activated in response to an interrogation ordering the vehicle'sTransponder back into a CVIS dormant mode.

10.3 Anti-Spoofing Embodiments of CVIS

A jamming device may be used in the vicinity of a CVIS Transponder toprevent the Transponder from deciphering interrogations and/ornotifications and thus prevent the Transponder from ever responding tointerrogations. The jamming device may be configured to jam the entireband over which the Transponder is configured to receive informationfrom Interrogators and/or Notificators. In order to defeat this threat,the following embodiment may be used:

Since a Transponder knows the frequency that its receiver is tuned to,the Transponder's transmitter may be tuned to the same frequency totransmit an a priori known (to the Transponder receiver) message. Inthis mode, the transmitter of the Transponder may use a radiatingelement that is sufficiently apart (spatially) from the Transponder'sreceiving antenna element (one antenna element may be situated near thefront of the vehicle while the other may be positioned near the rear ofthe vehicle). If the a priori known message that is transmitted by theTransponder's transmitter is not received reliably by the Transponder'sreceiver (while all other Transponder diagnostics are showing nomalfunction) a warning signal/message/alarm may instruct the vehicle'soperator to disable the jamming device. If the effect of the jammingdevice persists for more than a predetermined time interval (followingthe warning signal/message/alarm) then the vehicle's engine may, forexample, stop.

In other embodiments, given the relatively low-cost nature of theTransponder, large-scale redundancy may be provided. Each vehicle maycontain a plurality of Transponders, all networked together wirelessly(or otherwise) so that if one fails, the next can provide the necessaryfunctions. The plurality of Transponder chip-sets may be situated indifferent areas of a vehicle so as to make it difficult to identify anddisable. Transponder chip-sets may also be integrated with otherelectronic functions of a vehicle such that the Transponder assumes anamorphous (or distributed) nature, thus making it difficult for someoneto identify, isolate, and disable, without also causing harm to othervehicular electronics.

10.4 Integration of GPS Signal-Processing & Satellite/TerrestrialTransceiver Units with the CVIS Transponder

A vehicle may be equipped with GPS signal processing means and with asatellite/terrestrial transceiver capable of communicating directly witha CVIS CPU. Thus, a vehicle may attain a measure of its position fromGPS signal processing. Furthermore, a vehicle may be interrogated via aterrestrial wireless system (cellular, PCS, or other) or via a satellitesystem. In response to such an interrogation, the vehicle may ascertaina measure of its position from processing of GPS signals and may relaydirectly to a CPU, via the satellite/terrestrial transceiver unit,information responsive to the interrogation.

10.5 Use of CVIS by Emergency Vehicles to Control Traffic Signals

Fire trucks, Police vehicles, ambulances, and other authorized vehiclesmay be equipped with Transponders capable of controlling the trafficsignals at intersections along their path. A Transponder of anauthorized vehicle may receive, from an Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator, information regarding an approaching Traffic Light Set. TheTransponder of the authorized vehicle may then use this information tocommand the Traffic Light Set in its path to turn green while all otherTraffic Light Sets that may exist at the same intersection are commandedto turn red.

This embodiment of CVIS may provide significant additional safety tomotorists, passengers of vehicles, and pedestrians that may be in thevicinity of an emergency vehicle while the emergency vehicle is pursuingits objective at high speed. A hearing impaired person, for example, whomay not hear the sirens of an approaching emergency vehicle, may respondto the altered state of traffic signals. Similarly, a vehicle packedwith teenagers, with their stereo blasting away at maximum setting, maynot hear the sirens of an approaching emergency vehicle but may respondto the altered state of traffic signals.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed embodimentsof the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of acquiring data from an entity; themethod comprising: configuring the entity to wirelessly transmitinformation using frequencies of a predetermined frequency bandresponsive to receiving at the entity a first signal from a firstdevice; transmitting the information from the entity using thefrequencies of the predetermined frequency band responsive to saidconfiguring and responsive to said receiving at the entity the firstsignal from the first device; triggering a second device to transmit asecond signal responsive to said transmitting the information from theentity; and transmitting data from the entity responsive to receiving atthe entity the second signal from the second device.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said transmitting the information by theentity and/or said transmitting data by the entity comprises: using bythe entity a frequency that is provided by the first signal and/orsecond signal.
 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with the second deviceusing frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band; configuring theentity to wirelessly communicate with the first device using frequenciesof a cellular frequency band; configuring the entity to wirelesslyreceive information from the first device using frequencies of thecellular frequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that theentity receives from the first device to the second device by usingfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and configuring the entityto wirelessly receive information from the second device usingfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay theinformation that the entity receives from the second device to the firstdevice using frequencies of the cellular frequency band; wherein theentity is transportable and/or mobile.
 4. The method according to claim3, wherein said configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate withthe second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency bandcomprises: receiving an activation message at the entity from the firstdevice; and configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with thesecond device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency bandresponsive to said receiving an activation message at the entity fromthe first device.
 5. The method according to claim 4, furthercomprising: refraining by the entity from wirelessly communicating withthe second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency bandbarring having received at the entity the activation message from thefirst device.
 6. A transceiver comprising: a system that is configuredto wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predeterminedfrequency band responsive to having received a first signal from h firstdevice; wherein the system is further configured to trigger a seconddevice to transmit a second signal responsive to the system havingreceived the first signal from the first device; and wherein the systemis further configured to transmit data responsive to having received thesecond signal that is transmitted by the second device.
 7. Thetransceiver according to claim 6, wherein the system is configured towirelessly transmit the information and/or the data by using a frequencythat is provided by the first signal and/or second signal.
 8. Thetransceiver according to claim 6, wherein the system is furtherconfigured to: wirelessly communicate with the second device usingfrequencies of an unlicensed frequency band; wirelessly communicate withthe first device using frequencies of a cellular frequency band;wirelessly receive information from the first device over frequencies ofthe cellular frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that isreceived from the first device to the second device using frequencies ofthe unlicensed frequency band; and wirelessly receive information fromthe second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band andwirelessly relay the information that is received from the second deviceto the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile.
 9. Thetransceiver according to claim 8, wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive an activation message from the first device forthe purpose of configuring the system of the transceiver to wirelesslycommunicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensedfrequency band.
 10. The transceiver according to claim 9, wherein thesystem is further configured to refrain from wirelessly communicatingwith the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequencyband barring having received the activation message from the firstdevice.
 11. A wireless communications method comprising: receiving afirst signal at an entity from a first device over a short-rangewireless link; transmitting data from the entity to a second device overa long-range link responsive to having received the first signal at theentity from the first device over the short-range wireless link;receiving a second signal at the entity from the second device over thelong-range link; and exchanging data between the entity and the firstdevice over the short-range wireless link, while refraining fromexchanging data between the entity and the second device over thelong-range link, responsive to having received the second signal at theentity from the second device over the long-range link.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the long-range link comprises a wireless link andwherein transmitting data from the entity to the second device over thelong-range link comprises transmitting data using frequencies of alicensed band.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting datausing frequencies of a licensed band comprises transmitting data usingfrequencies of a cellular, PCS, microwave and/or satellite band offrequencies.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting data fromthe entity to the first device over the short-range wireless linkcomprises transmitting data using frequencies of an unlicensed band. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting data using frequencies ofan unlicensed band comprises transmitting data using ISM bandfrequencies.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the entity is mobile.17. A transceiver comprising: a system that is configured to receive afirst signal from a first device over a short-range wireless link; totransmit data to a second device over a long-range link responsive tohaving received the first signal from the first device over theshort-range wireless link; and to receive a second signal from thesecond device over the long-range link; wherein the system is furtherconfigured to exchange data with the first device over the short-rangewireless link, and to refrain from exchanging data with the seconddevice over the long-range link, responsive to having received thesecond signal from the second device over the long-range link.
 18. Thetransceiver according to claim 17, wherein the long-range link comprisesa wireless link and wherein the system is configured to transmit data tothe second device over the long-range link using frequencies of alicensed band.
 19. The transceiver according to claim 18, wherein thefrequencies of the licensed band comprise frequencies of a cellular,PCS, microwave and/or satellite band of frequencies.
 20. The transceiveraccording to claim 17, wherein the system is configured to transmit datato the first device over the short-range wireless link using frequenciesof an unlicensed band.
 21. The transceiver according to claim 20,wherein the frequencies of the unlicensed band comprise ISM bandfrequencies.
 22. The transceiver according to claim 17, wherein thetransceiver is mobile.
 23. A communications method comprising:configuring an entity to wirelessly communicate with a first deviceusing frequencies of a cellular frequency band; configuring the entityto wirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of anunlicensed frequency band; configuring the entity to wirelessly receiveinformation from the first device using frequencies of the cellularfrequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entityreceives from the first device to the second device by using frequenciesof the unlicensed frequency band; and configuring the entity towirelessly receive information from the second device over frequenciesof the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay the informationthat the entity receives from the second device to the first deviceusing frequencies of the cellular frequency band; wherein the entity istransportable and/or mobile; and wherein said configuring the entity towirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of anunlicensed frequency band comprises: wirelessly receiving an activationmessage at the entity from the first device; configuring the entity towirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of theunlicensed frequency band responsive to said wirelessly receiving anactivation message at the entity from the first device; and refrainingby the entity from wirelessly communicating with the second device byusing frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring havingreceived at the entity the activation message from the first device. 24.A transceiver comprising a system that is configured to: wirelesslycommunicate with a first device using frequencies of a cellularfrequency band; wirelessly communicate with a second device usingfrequencies of an unlicensed frequency band; wirelessly receiveinformation from the first device over frequencies of the cellularfrequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is receivedfrom the first device to the second device using frequencies of theunlicensed frequency band; and wirelessly receive information from thesecond device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band andwirelessly relay the information that is received from the second deviceto the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;wherein the system is further configured to wirelessly communicate withthe second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency bandresponsive to having received an activation message from the firstdevice; wherein the system is further configured to refrain fromwirelessly communicating with the second device by using frequencies ofthe unlicensed frequency band barring having received the activationmessage from the first device; and wherein the transceiver istransportable and/or mobile.
 25. A method of acquiring data from anentity, the method comprising: configuring the entity to wirelesslytransmit information using frequencies of a predetermined frequency bandresponsive to receiving at the entity a first signal from a firstdevice; transmitting the information from the entity using thefrequencies of the predetermined frequency band responsive to saidconfiguring and responsive to said receiving at the entity the firstsignal from the first device; triggering a second device to transmit asecond signal responsive to said transmitting the information from theentity; and transmitting data from the entity responsive to receiving atthe entity the second signal from the second device; wherein thepredetermined frequency band comprises frequencies of an unlicensedfrequency band; wherein said receiving at the entity a first signal froma first device comprises receiving at the entity the first signal fromthe first device over frequencies of a cellular frequency band; andwherein the entity is transportable and/or mobile.
 26. The methodaccording to claim 25, further comprising: configuring the entity towirelessly receive information from the first device using frequenciesof the cellular frequency band and to wirelessly relay the informationthat the entity receives from the first device to the second device byusing frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and configuring theentity to wirelessly receive information from the second device overfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay theinformation that the entity receives from the second device to the firstdevice using frequencies of the cellular frequency band.
 27. The methodaccording to claim 25, further comprising: wirelessly receiving anactivation message at the entity from the first device; and configuringthe entity to wirelessly communicate with the second device usingfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to saidwirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the firstdevice.
 28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising:refraining by the entity from wirelessly communicating with the seconddevice by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barringhaving received at the entity the activation message from the firstdevice.
 29. A transceiver comprising: a system that is configured to:wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predeterminedfrequency band responsive to having received a first signal from a firstdevice; wherein the system is further configured to trigger a seconddevice to transmit a second signal responsive to the system havingreceived the first signal from the first device; and wherein the systemis further configured to transmit data responsive to having received thesecond signal that is transmitted by the second device; wherein thesystem is configured to receive the first signal from the first deviceover frequencies of a cellular frequency band and to receive the secondsignal from the second device over frequencies of an unlicensedfrequency band; wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile.30. The transceiver according to claim 29, wherein the system is furtherconfigured to: wirelessly receive information from the first device overfrequencies of the cellular frequency band and wirelessly relay theinformation that is received from the first device to the second deviceusing frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and wirelesslyreceive information from the second device over frequencies of theunlicensed frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that isreceived from the second device to the first device using frequencies ofthe cellular frequency band.
 31. The transceiver according to claim 29,wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive an activationmessage from the first device for the purpose of configuring the systemof the transceiver to wirelessly communicate with the second deviceusing frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band.
 32. The transceiveraccording to claim 31, wherein the system is further configured torefrain from wirelessly communicating with the second device usingfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received theactivation message from the first device.